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Rare Earth Battle
稀土之战
Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, has called for the US and its partners to reduce their dependence on China ’s production of so-called rare earths, in some of the most forthright comments on the topic by a senior American official.
美国国务卿希拉里·克林顿呼吁美国及其盟友减少对中国稀土的依赖，这是迄今为止美国高官就稀土问题发表的最为坦率的言论之一。
But she welcomed a statement by Beijing on Thursday that it would not use its sway over the market as a bargaining tool with other economies.
中国政府周四表示，不会将中国在稀土市场中的主导地位看作是与其他经济体讨价还价的工具。希拉里对此声明表示欢迎。
China made that announcement after Mrs. Clinton decided to visit the country on her prolonged Asian tour.
中国政府是在希拉里决定延长亚洲之行顺便造访中国之后发表以上声明的。
She is due to meet Dai Bingguo, state counselor for foreign policy, in Hainan Island on Saturday.
她将于周六在海南岛与中国负责外交政策的国务委员戴秉国会晤。
Rare earths are used for high-technology products such as precision-guided weapons and hybrid cars.
稀土是用于生产精确制导武器和混合动力汽车等高科技产品的原料。
Beijing dominates the market with some 97 per cent of production, even though it has only 36 per cent of world reserves.
中国在稀土市场上占据主导地位，年产量占全球的97%左右，储量只有全球总量的36%。
This year it has cut export quotas, increased duties and has been accused by Tokyo of choking off Japan’s supplies-an accusation China has denied.
今年，中国削减了稀土出口配额，提高了关税。日本政府指责卡断日本的稀土供应——中国对此予以了否认。
The Obama administration has also been looking into reports that China had halted some shipments to the US.
奥巴马政府也在调查中国扣压部分对美发货的报告。
“The entire world has to seek additional supplies in order to protect the important production needs that these materials serve,” Mrs. Clinton said at a meeting in Hawaii with Seiji Maehara, Japan’s foreign minister.
希拉里在夏威夷会晤日本外相前原诚司时表示：“全世界都必须另外寻找稀土的供应源，以保护那些重要的生产需求。
“These are elements that are critical to industrial production, not only in Japan and the US.”
这些元素不只对日本和美国重要，它们在所有国家的工业生产中都发挥着至关重要的作用。”
Her comments come at a time of strain in US-Chinese ties over issues such as Beijing’s renminbi policy, its subsidies for green energy, and US efforts to deepen co-operation with many of China’s neighbors in south-east Asia.
希拉里发表上述言论之际，美中关系正陷入紧张。两国间的主要问题包括中国汇率政策、绿色能源补贴，以及美国与中国许多东南亚邻国深度合作等。
Mrs. Clinton added that the current focus on rare earths “served as a wake-up call” that,
希拉里补充，当前的稀土问题“为我们敲响了警钟”：
being so dependent on only one source, risked disruption through natural disasters or “other kinds of events”.
严重依赖某一种资源，可能在自然灾害或“其他事件”发生时带来风险。
